The Nature Of The Amazons

In view of available data there is no reason to deny reality
of the ancient women warriors.

Four kinds of Amazons should be distinguished in accordance with Greek sources:

Cappadocian Amazons

They lived in Cappadocia, an area of the northern Anatolia (modern Turkey). Their capital was Themiscyra on the river Thermodon, and they are known mainly from Greek mythology.
They are also called The Amazons of Anatolia.

Scythian Amazons

They lived in Scythia (modern Ukraine and southern Russia) and in the
whole space of Eurasian steppes. They are known mainly from reports by Herodotus and Hippocrates . Some shade them leaves
in folklore of Eurasian peoples. For instance, I can name
polyanitsas ('steppe females') and Virgin Sineglazka ('blue-eyed female') of Russian folk tales, Ochi-Bala of Türkish epos. Their remains are also find by archeologists, see
Ancient Graves of Warrior Women Offer Hints of Amazons.

They lived in Libya (northern Africa).
Diodorus Siculus has written the most important report of Libyan Amazons. There are also some remarkable indication of Libyan Amazons' heritage in culture of Berbers  later local inhabitants of
northern Africa.

Aegean Amazons

Significant but unclear traces of the Amazons exhibit in Aegean basin (proper
Greece). So the main shrines of warrior goddess  Athena and Artemis 
stood in this area (Athens, Delos island, Ephesus). Also actions of many myths
on these goddesses and proper Amazons took place in this area. These myths
explained this with invasion of Amazons. However, there are reasons to think
that, conversely, the Amazons were exiled from this region by the peoples who
took part in forming later Greek nation.

It's significant that he other Amazonian regions, namely Cappadocia, Libya,
and Aegean islands are arid too. Therefore we can assume the female health and the physical strength of those Amazons was based on action licorice, pomegranate, and, probably, other plants having prominent thirst-quenching properties.

Those plant ought to secure the phonomenon of the women-warrioirs because the are rich in substances identical to female sex hormones (estrogens), and retain water. Lack of estrogens and of water retention are two main symptoms of the common female hormonal disturbance.

Besides, the aridity of Amazon's countries makes think that the historically know Amazons presented only remains of earlier cultures, which disappeared on account formation of the deserts or steppes.

According to common notion dating back from the Antiquity, and nourished by modern feminists, Amazons were physically strong misandrist women able to stand up for themselves, and to train the coarse men to the respect for women.

However, according to some Greek sources the Amazons did love men and
married them. The couples of Heracles and Deianira, Meleager
and Atlanta, Theseus and Antiope (Hippolita)
exemplify this pattern.Also had to wrestle Thetis to marry her.

It's significant that these examples are related to Aegean regions concern
apparently Aegean Amazons. And although in case of Theseus Cappadocian Amazons
are meant, we can allude that originally Aegean Amazons were implied as
he arrived to them by sea.

The Amazonian nation was apparently one of very high culture due to the healthiness of Amazonian women. In particular, I'm convinced that the grandeur of the Ancient Greece was due to Amazons' heritage, of which marks are imprinted in Greek
mythology. This heritage is most obviously embodied in the notion of goddess Athena,
the armed divine patron of war, wisdom and crafts.

Thus, all things considered, the Amazons were mere healthy, robust women of that barbaric epoch.

It's significant that Artemis
was regarded as a goddess of the Moon that affects female physiology, and as the
divine patron of midwives

There are also some indications of their natural convertible infertile. And the Amazons just ought to be infertile as far as they were healthy and the real female health implies infertility.

So, according to the legends, Amazons had domesticated horse, which suggests friendly attitude to the animals. Also
Amazon goddessArtemis was worshiped as patron of animals
(later changed into patron of hunters). Besides, she together with her brother Apollo was
offered to with bloodless sacrifices at their main temple in Delos island.

In addition, its significant that vegetarianism was enough rife in Ancient Greece and Roma
— successors of the Amazon culture.

However, despite all their health and power, Amazons
were overwhelmed by unhealthy but aggressive and intensively multiplying
peoples greedy for Amazons' prosperity, and exiled from their homeland.

The following extract from Iliad (III, 184 - 190) seems to
confirm this:

I went to Phrygia once, the land of vines and galloping
horses, and learnt how numerous the Phrygians are when I saw the
armies of Otreus and King Mygdon encamped by the River Sangarios. I was
their ally and I bivouacked with them that time the Amazons, who fight
like men, came up to attack. But even they were not as many as these
Achaeans with their flashing eyes

Only some posterity
was left assimilated in various peoples, the same Ancient Greeks who were
formed from the rest of the Amazonian people and their conquerors - Achaeans.
The theme of the former fight against
Amazons, named Amazonomachy, was very popular in later
Ancient Greek art and epos, which evidently stemmed from the eulogies of the
conquerors.

Amazonomachy in Greek art

A particular episode of the Amazonomachy deserves our special attention. According to a legend, after Achaean hero Achilles killed Amazons' queen Penthesilea in combat, and pulled off her helmet (the image right portrays Achilles but not Penthesilea in such a helmet) he saw her beautiful face and fell in love with her at once, and raped her corpse after that. We can add an important detail to the episode. According to the Iliad, barbaric Achaeans unable to work up metals properly undressed killed Trojans for their armor and left the corpses naked. Most probably, that passage shamefacedly disguises some earlier version, which you can imagine now.

The latter characterizes brute nature of Amazon's enemies rather than beauty of Amazon
women. This episode just embodies the ambivalent attitude to the Amazonian
women. On one hand, they were appreciated due to their beauty, and on the other,
their bearing not affected by the hormonal disturbance
excited hatred in the barbaric neighbors. Besides, the wealth created by the
healthy Amazonian society compelled such neighbors' jealousy and craving.

Fortunately, great part of Amazonian nation escaped from their homeland
and settled in new places, mainly in Eurasian steppes (the Scythian
Amazons) and neighbor areas. This
settling is well-known as grandiose spreading of peoples of Indo-European family of languages. It shows that women
of the people had become suddenly permanent fertile after the exile from
the homeland.